Jelly foods have the soft and elastic texture characteristic of gels, and feel smooth to the tongue, and as such are widely used in desserts. Numerous jelly foods, which are prepared using substances capable of forming a gel such as agar and gelatin, have come onto the market in the past. Among of these jelly foods, demand has been rising steadily for those that simulate sarcocarp because these products offer the same taste and texture as fruit more easily and inexpensively.
Thus, jelly foods have met with wide acceptance as desserts among consumers, and are being used in ever-increasing quantities, but most jelly foods are produced merely by dissolving a gelling agent and then gelling the resultant solution by cooling or some other treatment, and seasoning the product with an aroma and flavor that imitate those of real fruit, but have a texture and taste (mouth feelings) that are different from those of actual sarcocarp.
Accordingly, there have been many attempts at making the texture of jelly foods more closely approximate the texture of sarcocarp.